Sheva.

Ramires won't be sacrificed, but even if he is; Matic-Lampard is a much better option against lesser opponents than Lampard-Ramires ever was.

Don't think we will see a 433 without Ramires or Lampard.

Tbf we're usually way off the pace at this point. He's done great, now it's if we can keep it up till May.

He meant it's similar to what Brazil play with Gustavo-Paulinho.

imagine paying, and the player fails the medical... then they say no refunds

There's another one of him vs Sao Paulo. But not sure it was a meaningful game, and also the camera angle is high and hard to know who's on the ball.

It was like the Bayern game all over again. Benfica had/have an impressive team tbf to them, their forwards always made good runs and decisions with the ball - just couldn't finish.

The only good "vs video" of him on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPMjGpH6zU0 Check the pass at 2:20.

A more reliable source than many of those posted before.

5 in a row for Messi would have been scandalous. Congrats Ronaldo, deserved it.

Why do people keep mentioning Gundogan? He has been injured for months now with a random back problem that is taking forever to get better.

Yeah it is surprising to me also, that he would want to come back so easily. But fair play to him i guess for holding no grudges.

Ah, i miss when this thread was quiet, like the Lukaku one is now

Why are they all obsessed with Tuesday? This might happen, but I doubt it will be so soon.

He wasn't bad like Torres, but didn't get involved enough. Willian was the same for the most part, everyone just kept giving the ball to Hazard to make something happen, and luckily he did.

I wish we could buy that guy instead.

He needs to be more consistent. I bet he will play a good game against Utd, then nothing the next 2 games after. Rinse and repeat.

I think I just read someone say Hazard shoots more than pass? Could not be more wrong.

Robbery

Nah, i don't think so. This game did show the little things Mikel does and is unnecessarily criticized for - like making simple sideways passes and doing so at a high percentage, yet Luiz and Ramires miss these passes under little pressure. Back to Essien though, i don't think he has the legs to keep up. Luiz made up for his sloppy passes with his defensive contribution - he got his head to the ball many times, played aggressively and won the ball back more than a few times.

Cole has had 2 assists to Hazard in the past few weeks. Not bad at all, given how he rarely bombs forward.

Hull didn't look like creating anything, but that was still a very important goal. We would be further clear at the top if our strikers doubled our lead more often.

All those Belgians who hate Mourinho for ruining KDB, should now start thanking him for helping Hazard reach new heights..

Anyone can pass better than Ramires but by his usual standards, he over-hit too many of his routine long balls. But you're right about the one to Hazard, not Luiz' fault that.

His passing was horrible. He missed a couple easy passes and never connected a long pass. He made up for it defensively though for me, he intercepted many balls and dominated in the air when needed.